Cafe pour Deux
by backwardsdrachen
Summary: Lapidot Oneshot AU. Lapis and Peridot are friends and work at the same coffee shop together. Awkward romantic tension ensues. Hope you enjoy!


It was a hot, stuffy Wednesday afternoon, and the coffee shop was unbearably slow. The only customers to come in were three regulars, one with an unruly mane who was giggling uncontrollably as she insisted that the pale woman with the pointed nose "chai" her tea. The tallest of the three was leaning back in her chair slightly, her dark shades obscuring any expression. She may have been asleep.

Lapis Lazuli watched the group with her head in her hands. She could hear her roommate, Peridot, messing with the machines behind her. It was her fault Lapis had this lousy summer job; she'd wanted to be a lifeguard, but the blonde couldn't swim well and had practically begged for them to work together at the shop not far from the beach.

"Nobody in their right mind drinks coffee in the summer," Lapis had told her. She didn't even like coffee.

"There is such a thing as iced coffee," Peridot had replied. The blonde was a bit of an addict, rightly so considering she always stayed up late doing piles of homework. Finally, desperate for cash and someone to review her math problems (her tiny crush on Peridot certainly never factored into the equation), Lapis agreed.

Now, here she was, working in a boring coffee shop with her cute roommate, a teenage boy, and a tyrannical employer at the helm. Lapis squinted from the glare of the sun through the wide windows to watch the beckoning waves as a fat fly buzzed insistently in her ear.

She desperately needed a break.

"Peri, what time is it?"

"It's 12:37," came the quick reply. Lapis sighed dramatically. Her break was too far away. The fly buzzed in her ear again, and she heard Peridot curse quietly behind her.

"Ouch," the blonde muttered. Lapis turned around.

"Why ouch?" Peridot was cradling her hand.

"I'm alright," she replied casually. "I may have a minor burn. But it's nothing to worry about-"

"You what?" Lapis was on top of her friend in two quick strides. "You burned yourself? How badly? Let me see!" She snatched Peridot's hand.

"Hey! Calm down, Lapis. I'm fine, seriously." The blue-haired girl was about to say something, but suddenly her mind shifted gears. Stealing a quick glance at the closed door to the manager's office, Lapis began to move Peridot in the direction of the break room.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to make sure you're alright."

"Lapis, there isn't even a mark-" Peridot could barely get the words out before her roommate opened the door to the break room, pulling them both inside.

A stocky boy of 16 was lounging on the couch, a cell phone in his hands. Peridot looked at Lapis and shook her head vigorously. The blue-haired girl let go of Peridot's hand and marched towards the couch.

"Hey, Steven?" The boy looked up, smiling at the girls when he saw them.

"Oh, hi Lapis!" Steven peeked over her shoulder. "Hi, Peridot!" The girl gave him an awkward wave from the doorway. "What's going on guys? Is it your break already?"

"No, actually," Lapis ran a hand through her hair, looking nervous. "Um, I came in to ask if you could cover our shift for like, ten minutes."

"I guess so. Why?" At this, the blue-haired girl reached back and grabbed Peridot's hand, tugging her into the room.

"Well," Lapis started, "Peridot was working the machines, and she- uh- she burned herself pretty bad." Steven leaped up off the couch.

"What? Oh my gosh, are you ok, Peri?" He tried to get a closer look at the injury, but Lapis blocked his view.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. Jasper told me I could take her back here and treat her, but only if you went out and covered for me."

"Yeah yeah, sure!" Steven stumbled over a footrest as he hurried to pull his apron from the rack. "I'll go right now! You stay here with Peridot." Lapis barely had time to say "thanks, Steven" before the door slammed shut. When Lapis was sure the boy had gone, she flopped onto the couch he had previously occupied.

"Thank God. I needed a break."

"Lapis, that was entirely inappropriate." Peridot loomed over the couch. "You mentioned Jasper on purpose."

"Yeah. I feel bad about that." Lapis folded her legs under her. "I like Steven. He's really sweet. But I needed a break. Besides, his friends are out there, so really I did him a favor." The blue-haired girl smiled at Peridot. "Why are you still standing up? We've got ten minutes." She patted the space beside her. "Come sit with me."

"I didn't say I needed a break." The older girl crossed her arms. "I'm perfectly fine. I could go back to work right now, and avoid being caught here while I'm on the clock." Lapis frowned. She was quiet for a moment.

"You're such a teacher's pet, Peri." The blonde girl scoffed. "I'm serious. You're always letting the big guy boss you around."

"Jasper is our employer, Lapis."

"That doesn't mean you have to do everything she says," the younger girl retorted. "Sure, she's the boss and she's scary, but you shouldn't let her treat you like you're her little spineless drone." Lapis jumped up suddenly. "It's not just Jasper, either, is it?" Peridot was startled by her outburst. "You always let other people push you around."

"I do not."

"You do!"

"That's enough, Lapis Lazuli!"

"It's never enough!" Lapis was shouting now. "I care about you, Peri! I couldn't stand to see anyone take advantage of you!" Both girls went silent. Lapis was shaking, and Peridot looked dumbfounded.

"How much?" The blonde girl muttered.

"What?"

"How much do you care about me?" Peridot didn't give her a chance to answer. In one moment she was cradling Lapis' chin, and in the next she was kissing her square on the mouth.

Lapis Lazuli felt like she could sprout wings.

Peridot gripped the blue-haired girl's shoulders and pulled her closer. Lapis got her fingers tangled in the older girl's oddly styled hair, messing it up considerably. Neither girl seemed to care.

Lapis was the first to run her tongue across the other girl's slightly parted lips. She paused, thinking Peridot would freak out and pull away, but was surprised instead when long fingers dragged down her side to her hip. She felt a scouting tongue reach out to contest her own.

It was sloppy, it was rough, and Lapis was convinced that Peridot had never done anything like this in her entire life, but she didn't care. The fact alone that it was Peridot tugging at her apron made every mistake worth it. There was a first time for everything, after all. They'd get better together.

If they weren't skinned alive by their psycho raging boss, anyway.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Lapis wrenched herself away from Peridot, who nearly jumped out of her skin. The blue-haired girl stumbled and fell flat on her bum, while her roommate stayed frozen in place.

"First I hear you get injured on the job without reporting it, and now I catch you in the break room while on the clock displaying the most horrific scene I've ever-"

"Jasper, wait." It was Peridot who spoke up. Lapis blinked a few times to make sure she'd recovered fully from her fall. Was Peri... talking back to Jasper? "I did get burned, and I didn't report it. It wasn't serious, but Lapis insisted she looked at it right away. She asked Steven to cover for us, and everything after that... well, it was my fault." She shrugged. "The truth is, I couldn't help what I was feeling. After all this time thinking about it, it just kind of... came out." Peridot looked sheepish, but Lapis couldn't help herself. She was grinning. "I shouldn't have started it here, but I don't regret it."

Lapis' smile faded as her eyes drifted to Jasper. The large woman was huffing quietly as she stared Peridot down with an unreadable expression. Finally she snorted.

"Fine. I'll let this one slide, Peridot." Both girls resisted the urge to gasp when Jasper's mouth twitched upwards. "I was a kid too, once." As fast as it had come, the ghost of a smile vanished.

"Don't do it again." With that, she was out the door, leaving the two roommates to gape at the open doorway.

After several seconds, Peridot turned slowly to face Lapis, who was still on the ground. She silently offered her hand, which the blue-haired girl accepted. Neither spoke until Lapis was back on her feet.

"Did Jasper just... smile?" Lapis chuckled.

"I guess there really is a first time for everything."


End file.
